Monday, August 4, 2008

No PAIN no GAIN




Saturday saw me do my 3rd Half marathon. The race was held in Riebeek West which is a truly beautiful part of the Cape. A lovely course which took you from the PPC Cement factory just outside Moorreesburg through Riebeek West to Riebeek Castle and back. A lovely but testing route with a few pretty tough hills along the way.


This was supposed to be my first Half Marathon but as you know, I have done a few already. It happened pretty quickly. I never even did a 10km race before I entered my first half!
So my previous half saw me finish in 2:07:51, which I was extremely happy with. This race was done in 2:10:32. But, it could`ve been so much better.
I started off really well and was going pretty quick (for me in any case). I reached the 5km mark in +- 28 minutes and the 10km mark in 54 minutes. I was well on my way to finish in under 2:00:00 which is a big ambition in my life.
But then it all came crashing down in a big way.

The problem with my left knee which I mentioned in a previous post came back in a big way at about the halfway mark on Saturday. It was pretty painful and the 2nd half of the race took me 16 minutes longer to complete than the first half. Running, walking, stopping, hobbling, you get the picture. Fortunately I took a knee brace with me. That provided some relief but did not help much. It was so annoying cos I felt pretty strong but for the darn knee.

So whereto from here? I don`t know. My physio has made an appointment with an orthopaedic surgeon (I`m awaiting confirmation of time and date). So let`s wait and see what he has to say. I hope there won`t be any sharp objects and blood involved....

For now I will concentrate on getting my knee stronger by doing shorter distances. I`m sure it`ll help. It better, I really need to hit the road a few times a week. I don`t want to balloon again!

9 comments:

Hayley said...

Communication is so great in our house, did not even know about the orthopedic surgeon until reading this :-)

Kevin said...

Sounds like my marriage.
We did? Where are we going? When did you buy that? Remember, I told you...?

Miller said...

What is this communication thing?

The Running Golfer said...

I see a common thread with the comments, the boys find it a hassle and the girl thinks it`s "important".... :-)

David Richardson said...

First time visitor to your blog. Really enjoyed it. I will certainly come back too!

Congrats on your run. That is impressive. I've never run that far, so I respect those who do.

God bless you!

Miller said...

By the way, who is the talented photographer?

The Running Golfer said...

The photographer is a professional from Jhb, you might know him.... ;-)

Anonymous said...

Faf, is jy en jou physio seker jy het nie net ITB op jou knie nie?? Dis BAIE algemeen vir iemand wat nou net begin hardoop het. Al hoe mens dit reg kry is met rus...

The Running Golfer said...

Hey Mia! Ek dink ook dis ITB, maar kan genuine nie bekostig om NIE te hol nie! Wil nie graag al die harde werk ongedaan maak nie. Ek het my km`s baie gesny en hoop nou maar dat dit die ding gaan doen.

Ciao!